This study focuses on the presence of over-activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, a biological disturbance seen in many patients with depression. This proposal investigates the hypothesis that an abnormal pituitary response to the stimulating or inhibiting factors, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and cortisol respectively, contributes to HPA dysregulation and is designed to improve upon methodologic problems present in previous investigations of this hypothesis.